Nani Mo Hosihiku
by Hasty
Summary: In a slip of the tongue, young Zaraki changes everything between him and his sensei.Will she send him away, or does she feel the same? Late birthday fic for Zaraki-san.


**Bleach is not mine. Kay? This story is set about 500 years precannon. See note at end for explanations. Theme: Cream from Ghost in the Shell.**

"Zaraki!" Yachiru Watanabe called.

_Honestly, where is that gaki?_ she thought. _I turn my back on him for one minute..._

She chuckled, catching herself. He wasn't a child anymore, despite his occasional reversion to childish ways. He'd been about thirteen when they met, twenty years ago, all arms and legs and attitude. She'd taken him on as a student since he'd helped her out in a tight spot in a fight. He hadn't been her student for ten years now, but they were a good team.

Now he was about sixteen, as humans reckoned. Although most would consider him a grown man, she still felt responsible for him. She checked for his reiatsu. Tsk.. All over the place, as usual.

_At least it makes him easy to find,_ she thought.

00

For some time now, she'd noticed that their client's daughter was flirting with Zaraki. It was rather disturbing to her that he was showing a lot of interest in women. He was such a flirt. He wasn't particularly handsome either, but it seemed that Miyu thought he had a certain charm. Why couldn't he have just seduced one of the servants? She ignored the little twinge of jealousy that followed that thought.

"Zaraki, I think we need to have a talk," she said, after sending Miyu off. "It's not wise to ah-involve yourself with the client's family."

"Miyu-chan's just a bit a fun," he said. "What, ya thought I was gonna take her to bed with me?"

"Well, yes. You're young and in love.."

"I ain't in love with her! She ain't _you, Chiru!"_

The words hovered between them until Zaraki realized what he'd just said. His cheeks went dark and he took off running. She heard the door of their quarters slam.

Kazeshini chuckled. "_Well, well. No wonder the kid's stayed around all this time. Why not bed the brat and put him out of his misery?"_

"I can't do that," she told the zanpakuto through their connection. "He's my student. I'd be taking advantage of him."

She remembered suddenly, that he'd served ten years as an apprentice, rather than the usual seven. Why had he stayed so long? Why had she let him stay by her side, rather than releasing him?

"_He wants ya to. Hell, the only reason he hasn't forced the issue is 'cause he holds ya in such high regard. If it wasn't for that you'd already be knocked up; he'd have mounted ya the first chance he got."_

"You're crude,rude, lewd and completely disgusting. Whose side are you on?"

"_The one that gets ya knocked up and producing a brat. If ya don't leave a descendant behind, I'll probably get stuck with some newly dead brat that don't know his ass from his elbow."_

"I hope your next owner melts you down for scrap metal."

Kazeshini blew a raspberry. _"If you don't do anything, he'll be easy pickings for any hotcha piece o' poison that comes along.."_

"That's it, I'm selling you to the nearest blacksmith tomorrow."

"_Oh, come on. You want him too. Didn't you get jealous every time he flirted with someone? I'm a part of you, ya know. I know everything…"_

She blushed. Damn it, Zaraki'd gotten to her. She was good at acting cold-hearted, but it was just a façade. It was time to make sure their paths parted. Love was something she couldn't afford.

00

For the first time, she regretted that she'd asked to share her room with Zaraki. He was usually relatively undemanding as a roommate, but not with _that _hanging between them. He'd picked up a book, and was carefully reading it, lying full length on his cot. She wasn't fooled. She took off her necklace and spun it around, watching the lapis stone catch the light and ignoring the scratchy futon underneath. She'd bought the necklace a long time ago, when she made fourth seat. Back when she was a shinigami, when things were _simple._

"Once the contract is over, I'll leave if ya want, Chiru-sensei," he offered, gruffly.

"That.. might be best," she conceded. It wasn't remotely what she wanted.

"I lied, that first time. I'd been watchin' out for ya for a while. I took out a few thugs before we met 'cause I could tell they meant to fuck with ya."

"Why didn't you tell me, Zaraki?"

"Didn't want ya ta think I was like those creeps. Even then, I could tell you were special."

"I liked the company," she admitted. "I was a bit relieved when you didn't want to leave."

"Why would I? Ya gave me a name, a home- you're the only person who ever gave a damn about me."

_Quit making this so hard, baka! _she thought. Why should he be grateful that she'd given him such an uninspired name? Because no one else had bothered, and he'd lost his. Even a pathetic name like the one she'd come up with was better than going without.

Her home.. that was a joke. A little squalid shack in the worst district of the Rukon couldn't be a home. But it'd been fun, rattling around that little shack with him. Did she really want those days to end?

"I have a better idea," she said, standing up and striding over to him. "I think we should reconsider this partnership."

"Chiru-sensei, wha.."

She shut him up with a kiss.

00

"So what's the plan, 'Chiru?" Zaraki asked as they headed off. The contract had gone well, and Hojo had dismissed them.

"Back to Zaraki, for a bit. We should probably swing by Rontu's. She still owes me, and her tips usually pay off."

"As long as it's only for a little bit. Hey, why don't we head to the Seireitei?"

Rontu didn't like him much, and the feeling was mutual. For 'Chiru's sake, they tried to get along.

"Why would you want to go there, Zaraki?"

"You wanna be a shinigami again, right? How does ''Chiru-fukutaicho' strike ya?"

She laughed.

"And what would you be? Third seat Zaraki? Fourth seat?"

"I was thinkin' 'Zaraki-taicho' sounds pretty sweet."

"We've got a lot of training ahead of us, partner," she replied.

He grinned. "Yeah, we'll be the strongest captain and vice-captain in the Seireitei!"

"Why do you get to be the captain?" she teased.

"'Cause the lieutenant's the one that's gotta do all the thinkin. And you're better at it than I am."

She elbowed him, hiding a smile.

He could already see it: her with her badge, him with a haori, and a daughter or a son trailing in their wake. Once they'd settled in, it'd be a good time to think about having a brat or three.

00

Zaraki stood outside, watching the stars come out. Pretty soon, they'd leave this house surrounded by ginkgos, again. Eventually, they'd shut the place up, and leave the 80th forever for the Seireitei. It'd be a long road, but as long as she was by his side, they'd never fail. They were an unstoppable team, and the whole Soul Society would come to know and fear them. That was in the future; for now, being here by her side was enough.

00

**I'm aware that Zaraki is way out of character. Please keep in mind that he is much younger in this story. As I've noted before, while Kube-sensei hasn't given us any details on the first Yachiru (or 'Chiru-sensei), Zaraki seems to have pretty strong feelings about her even now. **

**Reviews? **


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